PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Months later, Larriett discovered the footage of the alleged conspiracy to plant drugs and an alleged social media page for one of the MSP troopers. "He's homophobic, he's transphobic. He's racist. He's misogynistic," Larriett said. "I don't know why this man is on the force." Both MSP troopers are still working as of Oct. 29."
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STORY: "Man files $10M lawsuit against Michigan State Police for alleged drug plant, by Reporters Rob Wolchek and Brendon Vrabel, published by Fox2 News, on October 29, 2024.
SUB-HEADING: "A man has filed a lawsuit against state police for what he claimed was a conspiracy to plant drugs on him during a traffic stop. The troopers involved have a month to respond to the lawsuit."
GIST: "An alleged drug planting conspiracy resulted in a man filing a $10 million lawsuit against the Michigan State Police (MSP).
The man, Dakarai Larriett, accused two MSP troopers of violating his rights and conspiring to plant drugs on him during a traffic stop in Benton Harbor on April 10.
"For a Black man, in a situation like that, you say the wrong thing, and you're dead," Larriett told FOX 2.
He said that footage showed the troopers conspiring to plant the drugs the night of his traffic stop.
Larriett said a trooper accused him of smelling like something fruity, then gave him a 30-minute sobriety test, even though he said he was sober. He was then immediately taken to a medical clinic where he said he tested negative for all alcohol, but was still taken to jail.
Larriett said, while in jail, police went even further, claiming he was hiding a bag of drugs inside himself.
"That looks like a bag of drugs, confess now, or you're going to face a trafficking charge as well," Larriett recounted police telling him. "And they continued scanning my body."
Larriett said he had to publicly use the bathroom to prove it.
"I've never even been arrested," he said. "I'm a corporate executive working for Whirlpool for three years, based out of Benton Harbor. I don't know anything about this world. I've never even been in a jail before. I was mind-blown the whole night."
When he was released from custody, the DUI charges were dropped. Months later, Larriett discovered the footage of the alleged conspiracy to plant drugs and an alleged social media page for one of the MSP troopers.
"He's homophobic, he's transphobic. He's racist. He's misogynistic," Larriett said. "I don't know why this man is on the force."
Both MSP troopers are still working as of Oct. 29.
State police sent a statement reading:
"MSP is committed to unbiased policing and the fair treatment of all individuals. We take any allegations of misconduct with the utmost seriousness. At no time did troopers attempt to plant narcotics on Mr. Larriett or in his vehicle. The term "stash" referred to the trooper’s inability to locate his supply of Preliminary Breath Test (PBT) straws, which are required for administering a PBT. Upon learning of the allegations in Mr. Larriett’s lawsuit, we initiated an internal affairs investigation. As it pertains to the traffic stop, the investigation concluded the stop was conducted in accordance with department policy and legal standards. Sexist, racist and homophobic remarks are not in line with the values of MSP. The allegation about these personal social media posts is part of the internal affairs investigation, which is still underway."
The troopers involved have a month to respond to the lawsuit."
The entire story can be read at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
- SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
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FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
